This invention relates to a child safety seat having means for protecting the head of a child seated therein.
During a vehicle crash, a child seated in a safety seat can be subject to forces from any direction. For example, in a rear impact, a forward-facing child will experience forces tending to move the child up the back of the child seat. Similar forces are experienced by a child in a rear-facing seat during a frontal impact. In both cases, such movement is restricted by the shoulder straps of the child seat harness but the head can still be subject to high G forces, placing high neck extension loads on the child.
According to the invention, a child safety seat comprises a seat body having a seat portion and a backrest portion, and a head restraint having a support portion secured to the backrest so as to project beyond the upper end thereof and a restraint portion immovably secured to the upper end of the support portion so as to project therefrom in a direction that remains generally parallel to the seat portion.